Saturday, 20 April 2013

Homage music videos

Another style of music videos is similar to
parody in that the music video imitating something but in the case of homage,
the mimicking is designed to pay tribute or show respect. Whereas parody is
used to mock a media product or star, homage is used to show respect.

An excellent example of a music video that
uses homage is The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars. This video uses locations,
themes and iconography from the popular classic horror film The Shining. The
band perform in a hotel very similar to The Overlook hotel featured in The
Shining and the lead singer sits at a typewriter just as Jack Nicholson’s
character who is a writer does in the film.

Tonight, Tonight by The Smashing Pumpkins
is another example of a music video that pays homage to another piece of media.
In this case, the music video pays respect to the Georges Melies early silent
film The Voyage to the Moon. This is widely credited as being one of the first
ever science fiction films and the beginning of movie special effects. Tonight,
Tonight features a similar narrative to the film with the iconic moon with a
face imitated and aliens that blow up into puffs of smoke when they are hot by
the characters.

A final example that also pays homage in
its style is the X Factor Finalists music video for Heroes. This was a charity
single that pays respect to the soldiers who have been fighting in recent wars.
There are many photos of soldiers and videos of the finalists meeting some of
them. It is a tribute to the heroes of war which perfectly complements the lyrics
of the song and ties in with the charitable intentions of the single.